Colorado Springs News, Sports & Business

Kitchen fire at Briarhurst invites extra wedding guests

Manitou Springs firefighters watched a bride walk down the aisle at Briarhurst Manor Estate Saturday night after they extinguished a fire in the restaurant's kitchen.

The range-hood fire in the estate, at 404 Manitou Avenue, forced the evacuation of the diners and staff early Saturday evening, according to the Manitou Springs Fire Department. When smoke alarms started to shrill around 5:15 p.m., the entire estate was emptied, and two weddings briefly put on hold while fire crews were called, said Dave Hunting, spokesman for the fire department. The fire was confined to one of the ranges in the kitchen - the hood was damaged and inoperable, and firefighters had to cut a small hole in the kitchen roof to release smoke. Crews remained on scene cleaning up until around 8 p.m.

Once the fire was out, business continued as usual. The restaurant was running at partial capacity, and the wedding celebrations started up again. Around 7 p.m., fire crews watched as one of the brides walked down the aisle.